The UN Security Council on Monday approved new sanctions against North Korea in response to Pyongyang’s continued nuclear tests. China and Russia both backed the resolution drafted by the US which imposes new sanctions on North Korea, including a ban on textile exports and restricting shipments of oil products, Deutsche Welle reports.
Speaking as the council passed the resolution in New York on Monday night, US Ambassador Nikki Haley said the US was not looking for war with North Korea and Pyongyang has “not yet passed the point of no return.”
“If it agrees to stop its nuclear program, it can reclaim its future,” she told the Security Council. “If it proves it can live in peace, the world will live in peace with it.”
Haley acknowledged what she called a “strong relationship” between US President Donald Trump and Chinese Premier Xi, who had played a key role in negotiating the new sanctions.
North Korean UN Ambassador Pak Kil-yon told the disarmament conference: “My delegation condemns in the strongest terms and categorically rejects the latest illegal and unlawful UN security council resolution.”
The resolution bans North Korea from importing natural gas liquids and condensates. It caps Pyongyang’s imports of crude oil to the level of the last 12 months, and it limits the import of refined petroleum products to 2 million barrels a year.
The resolution also bans all textile exports and prohibits all countries from authorizing new work permits for North Korean workers. Both of these have been key sources of hard currency.
The resolution follows other sanctions passed a month ago banning exports of coal, lead and seafood which are to yet be implemented.
